The EXO from Taipan is the first commercially offered DJI Osmo Pocket cage. Its aluminium design offers multiple threaded holes, arca-swiss plate and ARRI 2-pin mount while sustaining the full connectivity of the Osmo Pocket. There will be more accessories for the cage available in the future.
Taipan cinema tools is a relatively new camera accessories manufacturer based in Italy. They are offering mostly cages for Z Cam cameras and rigs for VR 360 multi camera setups. Now they managed to design what appears to be the world’s first commercially offered cage for the new DJI Osmo Pocket camera. Although I would personally say the whole point of the DJI Osmo Pocket is the portability, there are definitely enough users who want to put their Osmo Pocket in a cage. By the way, for more information about the DJI Osmo Pocket itself take a look at our review and hands-on article or our initial news article with camera specs. What does the EXO Osmo Pocket cage from Taipan offer?
EXO – DJI Osmo Pocket Cage
The EXO Osmo Pocket Cage is made from 6061 aluminium and it expands the mounting possibilities and provides additional protection for the camera’s body. There is an Arca-Swiss type base for quick release mounting, a couple of 1/4-20 and 3/8-16 threaded holes at the back and bottom of the cage and an ARRI 2-pin mount. To insert the Osmo Pocket in the cage, there is some kind of retracting mechanism. For deatiled tour of the cage, take a look at the following promo video.
The cage is fully compatible with Osmo Pocket accessories. It can be adjusted to use the Pocket wireless base for remote control and it is designed to be used with the Pocket original control grip extension. Full access to the Pocket USB-C bottom and back-side ports as well as smartphone (up to the size of Samsung Galaxy Note 9) connection via the original phone adapter is sustained.
The company claims that EXO Osmo Pocket Cage is only their first step into building a complete system around the tiny gimbal camera. One of the accessories that would make sense to me the most is some kind of support piece for the connected smartphone. That is indeed one of the confirmed future accessories. Other planned accessories are for example quick release belt clip or arca-swiss in-line grip. The company however did not yet specify when they will bring the accessories.
EXO cage future accessories
EXO Osmo Pocket Cage Key Specs
aerospace 6061-T6 aluminum
opaque surface finish
black, anti-scratch anodization
stainless steel safety/lock/align mechanism
fourteen 1/4-20 UNC threaded holes (12 of them with steel helicoils)
one 3/8-16 UNC bottom mounting point
ARRI 2-pin mount (anti-rotation design)
weight: 71gr / 2,5oz
The manufacturer is now accepting pre-orders for the EXO Osmo Pocket Cage via e-mail at [email protected]. The price of the cage is $35,99 USD (excluding VAT, shipping and customs – these may be due depending on the country you order from). The company expects to start shipping the pre-ordered units at the end of February 2019.
Do you use DJI Osmo Pocket? Are you thinking of getting a cage for it? How do you like the design of the EXO cage? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

Freewell introduced filter sets for the DJI Osmo Pocket. The sets include ND, PL, ND/PL and GND filters. The Osmo Pocket ND & other filters are magnetic and lightweight with high quality 16 layers multicoated optical glass.
Freewell has been manufacturing magnetic snap-on filters and accessories for DJI products for a while, so it is no surprise they are now releasing a handful of filters for DJI’s newest handheld gimbal camera – the DJI Osmo Pocket. By the way, for more information about the Osmo Pocket, make sure to check Nino’s review and hands-on video or my older news article with the camera’s specs.
We haven’t had a chance to actually try and review Freewell’s Osmo Pocket filters yet, but will get our hands on them as soon as possible and will share our thoughts with you here.
Freewell Osmo Pocket Filters
Freewell Osmo Pocket filters are made of 16 layers multicoated optical glass which makes them scratchproof, waterproof and dustproof and also ensures crystal clarity in captured footage. The filters simply snap on the camera lens with a magnetic ring which makes it very easy to attach or detach. They are designed to be as lightweight as possible to ensure the gimbal motors will function properly. Freewell is so convinced about the quality of their filters that they are offering a lifetime warranty on all of them.
ND (Neutral Density) filters are helpful in slowing down the shutter speed of the camera by restricting the amount of light entering the camera lens. Slower shutter speed means realistic motion blur. The ND4 filter helps to slow down the shutter speed by 2 f-stops, ND8 by 3 f-stops, ND16 by 4 f-stops, ND32 by 5 f-stops and ND64 by 6 f-stops.
CPL (Circular Polarized Lens) filter works to prevent unwanted reflections from naturally reflective surfaces outdoors, such as windows, water bodies and snow, to impair the picture quality. The hybrid filters – ND/PL – incorporate features of ND and PL filters for the best combined results in bright environment.
Graduated ND filters (GND) are designed for capturing better landscape photographs and footage by balancing the exposure required for the land and the sky. As they come in more strengths, they can suit various light conditions. To enhance efficiency, the Freewell Gear Grad filters are laser-marked with horizon-lines to help users line up the aerial landscape shot well.
The ND1000 filter from Freewell is designed for getting clear images when shooting outdoors in very bright conditions for long exposure photography. Freewell was the first to design ND1000 filters for DJI drones. The ND1000 filter cuts light by 10 f-stops.
Freewell Osmo Pocket filters come in few different sets:
Freewell Gear All Day Filter Kit. This kit offers broad selection of filters for various light conditions. It includes 8 filters – ND4, ND8, ND16, CPL, ND8/PL, ND16/PL, ND32/PL and ND64/PL.
Freewell Gear Standard Day Filter Kit. This kit includes 4 filters and is aimed to offer a basic kit for not-so-strong light. It includes ND4, ND8, ND16 and PL filters
Freewell Gear Bright Day Filter Kit. This kit is aimed at shooting in very bright conditions. It includes 4 filters – ND8/PL, ND16/PL, ND32/PL and ND64/PL.
Freewell Gear Grad Landscape Kit. This one contains 3 graduated ND filters – ND8-GR, ND16-4 and ND32-8.
Freewell ND1000 Filter. This very dark ND filter is the only one being sold separately. It is aimed mainly at long exposure photography in bright conditions.
These filter sets for the Osmo Pocket are available now (see the links to our partner shops underneath the article). Prices are ranging from $19.99 to $129.99.
What do you think of Freewell DJI Osmo Pocket filters? Do you use the camera? Let us know in the comment section below.

Just over a month ago I was in New York City for DJI’s launch event of the Osmo Pocket. (In case you missed it, you can find our review here.) Parallel to that event, I was able to interview Adam Lisberg, DJI’s Communications Director for North America, about company strategy.
Thanks to Austrian journalist Patrick Wollner, who set up this interview with Adam Lisberg, I was able to film this conversation. It’s a rare opportunity to have someone from DJI talk about company strategy in front of the camera – and considering the popularity of DJI’s products, I was excited to hear about their thought progress “behind the scenes”.
We talked about how DJI evolved from a small Chinese company that made “drone kits” to use with your own cameras into what it has become today, a truly global company with over 15,000 employees around the world, and a brand name that has become synonymous with drones (at last count, their market share in the non-military drone space was 70%). We asked Adam Lisberg about what differentiates them from other big tech companies, being originally from China, unlike most others. We went on to talk about how they deal with new regulatory measures regarding drone use around the world – the Gatwick drone incident is the most recent example of how drone use will definitely be much more regulated in most countries in the near future – and how they talk to governments around the world in order to create a more global regulatory environment for drones. As Adam explained, DJI doesn’t see itself as the “drone company” unlike most audience members however, as the use of gimbals and small cameras evolves into more product categories like the Osmo Pocket, for example.
Watch the entire interview above. As a reference, here’s a full list of the questions we asked and the topics we talked about.
Topics / Questions:
00:32: How did DJI develop from a small to a global company?
03:11: Does becoming a big company make it harder to compete for making even more innovative products?
04:41: Being from China, what distinguishes DJI?
06:55: Are you perceived as a Chinese company?
08:39: Do you develop anything outside of China?
11:12: How did you manage to become good at both engineering and software design?
12:42: Do you still regard yourselves as a drone company only?
14:41: How do you face new global regulatory challenges around drones?
19:45: Does DJI lobby governments to create international legislation around drone use?
23:41: In what areas can we expect DJI’s technology to improve more?
25:22: Are cameras going to improve more with their hardware or with processing of the images in the future?
We hope you found this in-depth conversation useful and interesting and look forward to your thoughts. We plan having more discussions with filmmakers and filmmaking tech companies alike in 2019. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

We took a look at the newly announced DJI Osmo Pocket and asked ourselves: Is this a tool that can be useful for professional filmmakers? After attending their global launch event in New York City, I worked on this initial Osmo Pocket Review for a few days.
You might say: this is not a pro device, it’s for consumers! And you are absolutely right. But cinema5D has always been about making also inexpensive tools work for your filmmaking.
Not a Full Review – Pro Filmmaker Features
This is not a full review, there are tons of full reviews out there which cover every detail of this device. Unlike many other Youtubers, we unfortunately didn’t get access to the device before its release, which is why I decided to limit this review to an overview focusing on the “pro filmmaker feasibility” of the Osmo Pocket, and what it means for the industry as a whole.
Osmo Pocket – Action Cam or New Category?
DJI has created a completely new category with this device indeed, they have managed to shrink the gimbal down to a truly pocketable device. Unlike some other devices which have “Pocket” in their name (hint, hint), you can actually put it in your pocket.
With all the small camera tech they have developed for the drones, we have expected DJI to take on GoPro’s action cam market for a very long time, and this is the closest they have gotten to do that so far. However, it’s a very different device than something like a GoPro Hero7, which seems a lot more robust, but also more made to be put on a car or helmet.
Obsolete: Smartphone Gimbals
The Osmo Pocket on the other hand kind of makes using dedicated gimbals for smartphones obsolete, because DJI have combined it with a really impressively performing gimbal, something they have certainly learned to make right over the past few years. And it’s remarkably stable even when running.
Sensor Size, Aperture, Field-of-View
It has a 1/2.3 inch sensor, the same as in the Mavic 2 Zoom. It’s a fixed f/2.0 lens with a 28mm full frame equivalent field of view. That means it’s still fairly wide but not crazy wide like some action cameras on the market – which actually makes it useful to shoot accompanying walk-and-talk shots.
Tiny Screen, Pro Settings in the App
The built-in 1 inch touch screen is truly tiny, but the interface is well thought-out and you have access to most of the functions, however not the Pro settings. For those, you need to use the DJI Mimo app. When using only the built-in screen, it’s practically impossible to judge focus. I recorded a couple of shots that are out of focus when using it without the app.
When you attach the phone and use the app, you can access all Pro settings, and you immediately have access to all essential parameters like ISO, shutter speed, white balance, frame rates and more, and that makes it feasible as a professional device. It’s impressive that the camera can do up to UHD 4K 60p, however the bitrate reaches 100MBit only in that mode, the other UHD modes are around 80MBit/s, and HD only around 30MBit/s. What we are missing so far are picture profiles like D-Cinelike or D-Log, but as André said earlier, that will come in a free update to the Mimo app soon. Hopefully they will also include ways to adjust the post sharpening and other parameters too.
Audio Quality, Microphones
In terms of built-in audio – it’s okay but not great, and it picked up quite some wind noise when I used it. The audio on the GoPro Hero7 is clearly better, but again, those two are hard to compare. There is no headphone jack to monitor the audio, but you can connect an external microphone with a separately sold 3.5mm adapter. So far even then you don’t have access to manual audio level controls.
Conclusion – No-Brainer for Pro’s, Steep Price for Consumers
To summarize – for the professionals, this device is tiny enough as a b-camera to keep in your bag, and at $349 cheap enough to be close to a no-brainer addition to your kit. It’s not the silver bullet to anything, but something you can hand to a director, producer or assistant if they desire an extra angle while moving. Vloggers will like this to produce stabilized footage without any fuzz, they should just use a separate microphone or audio recorder. For consumers, the price point might be a bit steep however, if they already have a very good smart phone camera in their pocket.
But the Osmo Pocket is a sign of things to come, and while it is impressive technology in a very small package, it’s still a first generation product, and without a doubt, DJI will work on a Pro version of this in secret in the background. We certainly can’t wait to see what’s next on this platform.